REONE
Reone first insticint was to figure out a way out of this,that is until he really looked at the hostile group infront of him.
His eyes narrowed,not believing what he was seeing.
Yellow eyes.
Long, elegant ears.
A hand gripping a blade with only—
"Three fingers," Reone whispered.
A Diviner.
"I said drop it," the leader repeated sharply.
Reone wordlesslly let the spiral clatter to the stone.
The guy—clearly the one in charge—studied him.
"Relax," Reone said to them quickly, raising his hands. "See? I dropped it. I'm not a threat."
"Nullborn Extractors are always a threat," another figure muttered behind the leader.
"I'm not a Nullborn Extractor!" Reone snapped.
"You would say that," the male scoffed.
"He's obviously telling the truth, Lhanak," the leader said calmly. "He doesn't have the marks."
"Exactly! My name is Reone. I'm a Legion," Reone said desperately, still cradling Lyrian protectively.
Lhanak scowled. "Just because you're not one of them doesn't mean you're not working with them in hunting us."
"I told you," Reone said, voice rising, "I'm not with them! They attacked me and my girlfriend for crying and out loud!"
This keeps them all quiet.
Reone cups Lyrian's cheek gently.
"Hey—no sudden moves," Lhanak barked.
Reone ignored him, moving slowly, carefully.
"My girlfriend,Lyrian and the Extractor's drained her of resonance. And now she's… she's…" His voice broke.
He couldnt bring himself to say it.
Sympathy flickered in the leader's—Primi's—eyes, though he masked it quickly.
Another Diviner stepped forward—a female. She took one look at Lyrian and gasped. Was that recognition he saw on her face? Reone couldn't tell with the masks they were wearing.
"You're Diviners, right?" he said urgently. "You can restore resonance. Please. Help her."
The Diviners exchanged uneasy looks.
"First," the female said, "tell us how you found us."
Reone forced honesty. He knew that it was important that he gained their trust.
"A Nullborn Extractor,Darel."
"I knew it—" Lhanak began.
"But he only told me to stop me from killing him."
That shut Lhanak up.
"And how did this Darel know where we are?" the leader asked sharply.
"He said he saw one of you enter the cave. He followed them to your nest."
Everyone froze especially the female who had spoken.
"Dont worry. I tied him to a tree before he could tell all the others.I would've killed him but...I had other priorities.Im sorry,"Reone said.
"Shoot,"the female muttered.
"Oh, Anika…" one of the male Diviners—Romi—groaned.
Reone didn't understand what was going on betweem them and he didn't care. He just wanted them to help Lyrian.
"Please help me.Her," he said. "I'll do anything."
They all turned back to him.
"What do we do, Primi?" another female—Feya—asked softly. "He looks like he's in real trouble."
Lhanak scoffed. "Obviously we don't help him. We can't trust him. This is probably a trap. And For all we know, his 'dead girlfriend' is part of it."
"I already told you this isn't a trap!" Reone shouted. "Just look at her!"
They flinched at his tone.
"Primi?" Anika murmured.
Lhanak rolled his eyes.
"Anika, you're the princess. You should be putting a stop to this—not asking his permission."
Anika and Primi snapped toward him.
"Primi is captain of the guard," Anika said sharply. "That means princess or not, I defer to him. And so do you."
"Anika is right. Or are you of a different opinion,Lhanak?" Primi asked coolly.
Lhanak clenched his jaw. "Of course not, but—"
"But nothing. What I say goes," Primi cut in.
Lhanak reluctantly fell silent.
Primi studied Reone and Lyrian for a long moment.
Finally, he said, "This is one for your dad, princess."
Silence.
Then Lhanak hissed, "You can't be serious. Bring them to the nest? To the king? Do you know how risky—"
"Of course I do," Primi snapped. "But we don't turn away someone in need. That is the Diviner way."
"Agreed," Anika said.
"Ever since we've been hunted," Lhanak argued, "our way is survival . We protect our own. Which is why I suggest we kill him, dispose of them both, and be done with this matter."
Reone held Lyrian closer. He didnt care what happened to him.But he didnt want to die,not before he made Lyrian better.
Primi stepped into Lhanak's space. "I am Captain. You will obey me in this,Lhanak."
Lhanak relucantly lowered his gaze but he didnt say anything, clearly still unhappy.
Romi cleared his throat. "Primi… do you even know if the King will help?"
"My father is a stubborn man but he is kind," Anika said. "But there is really only one way to find out."
Primi nodded, then turned to Reone. "But first...Reone,is it? The Extractor you left tied to a tree, can you tell us exactly where you left him?"
"Yes,"Reone said and began relaying clear directions.
Satisfied Primi turned to the others. "Romi, Feya, Lhanak—go. Take care of him. Make sure he doesn't reveal our location. Anika and I will take Reone and the Sylph to King Arnab."
"You can count on us,Primi," Romi said. "Come on, guys."
The trio left—Lhanak threw one last hostile glare at Reone before disappearing.
Primi turned back to Reone.
"Get up. Bring the Sylph. You're coming with us."
Reone was too shocked to move for a beat.
Primi snapped, "Are you deaf? Or do you not need our help anymore?"
"No—of course, I do," Reone said quickly, scrambling to his feet.
"Good. This way."
As they walked, Reone asked, "Can you help her?"
Primi didn't answer at first.
Then: "I don't know."
Reone stopped dead.
"You don't know? How can you not know? Just restore her resonance—you're Diviners!"
Primi turned to him, deadly serious.
"It's not that simple. Or do you think we'd be hiding in caves if it was?"
"I don't understand. What's the issue with restoring resonance?"
"This process can come at a high price," Primi said quietly. "A very high one."
Reone froze.
"What price?"
"That is only known by my father," Anika said. "And the elders.They've kept it from the rest of us. That's how dangerous the whole thing is."
Reone looked at Lyrian's still face.
"There is no price too high," he whispered.
They all nodded, as if understanding him.
None of them considered that Reone might not be the one who had to pay the price.
Reone walked beside Primi in the narrow passage when the captain suddenly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back.
"Stop. Don't move another inch."
Reone froze. "What is it?"
Primi pointed downward. Only then did Reone see the faint glimmer of a thin metal thread stretched across the floor.
"Tripwire," Primi said. "When activated, it releases a swarm of deadly insects,Stingwrath Hornets. One bite, and you're paralyzed."
Reone exhaled slowly. Traps. Here?
He wouldnt have thought.
"We designed them to deter Nullborn Extractors from the Nest,"Anika explained.
Primi nodded.
"From now on, watch Anika and me. Step only where we step,"he told Reone.
Reone swallowed. "Understood."
"Good. Follow me."
After a moment, Reone spoke again. "Lyrian told me she ran into a Diviner last night. It was you, wasn't it, Anika?"
Primi gave Anika a sharp look which she pretended not to see.
"I hoped she'd keep that to herself," Anika muttered. "But yes."
"She said you attacked her," Reone's tone hardened.
Primi facepalmed.
"This is my fault.I knew I shouldnt have let you go on this mission," he scolded. "Youre too much of a rookie.You dont even know how to be stealthy.?"
"I still completed the mission,led the Extractors away from the nest." Anika defended herself.
"Not all of them,"Primi countered.
Anika opens her mouth but no words come out.She didnt have a solid defense .So she just grits her teeth,angry.
She so badly wanted to impress Primi,her father and all of her people.To finally get their respect her as a Guard.
She wpuld have to keep trying,she knew.
Reone barely noticed the tension around him.He just saw Lyrian.
Anika noticed him doing this and winced. "Reone,I swear I didn't mean to attack Lyrian,I promise you. I thought she was an Extractor. I realized too late that she was way too pretty. My bad."
A fragile smile cracked Reone's grief-hardened face.
"Yeah… she is pretty,"Reone said with faint smile.
The tunnel forked ahead — one path wide and familiar, the other narrow and veiled in shadows.
Anika started toward the familiar one.
Primi's hand shot out, catching her wrist.
"Not that way."
She blinked at him. "Why? It's faster."
"The ceiling's unstable," he said, voice low but firm. He pointed upward. "See the cracks? If one walked there, the whole thing could come down."
Anika followed his gaze. Fissures spider-webbed across the rock, small flakes already littering the ground.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh. I… didn't even notice."
"It's recent," Primi said. "But the place is too dangerous for use now."
To Reone it seemed like all of the cave was dangerous.That is unless you had the protection of a diviner.
Reone lingered infront of the unstable tunnel path for a moment.He noted the broken stones, the hanging shards, the darkness that waited just beyond the bend.
He knew an ugly group of people he would like to see in this place.
It was a long time before Reone finally tore his gaze andfollowed the two diviners.
When he looked up, he froze.
A shimmering wall rippled in front of them—like the air itself was water.
"What is that?"
"The entrance to the nest," Primi said. "Only resonant beings can see it. It keeps the Nullborn Extractors out."
"Helpful," Reone murmured.
"It's saved us many times."
Standing before the barrier, Primi gestured.
"After you."
Reone didn't hesitate this time. He stepped through—
—and gasped.
"What…?" he breathed, awed.